The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden Paperback 2017 - Penguin Random House

Perfect Christmas holiday reading, beautifully written folk tale with all essential ingredients; a winter king, frozen landscape, bold heroine and even a slightly crazy stepmother. Thoroughly enjoyed it and pleased to find it’s the first in a trilogy.

I actually loved this book! I've never read any Russian litterature, but was surprised how much of my attention it got. Sure it is quite stereotypical in some way, but so is so many books. I thought that it was well written and the different characters felt a bit like family members. I'm looking forward to next book :)

This book didn't do much for me at all.. I'm a huge fan of Russian literature, both classics and fairy tales! I honestly never got the feeling that any of the characters were Russian let alone real people, they felt so stereotypical and I didn't connect with any of them. To be frank the protagonist was just annoying! What was the point of this story? Maybe it's a YA, which generally isn't really my genre, but I'm still surprised how lacking the character building was! The story wasn't really that interesting and it all felt very predictable... I honestly can't recommend it!

A very different fable

Ill preface this review by saying that this is not the kind of book I would pick to read myself, but it was chosen for our book club. Its a Russian fairytale told in English. It is definitely well written, but its not something I can really get into. Anyone who enjoys this type of thing will probably really like it. A woman dies leaving behind a new baby and the father is royalty. The child grows to be a handful and the father decides to marry so that she might have a mother to help her grow up properly. The stepmother isnt kind to the Girl and the girl has special Powers.

Absolutely Whimsical!

So close to being a five star read for me! I loved almost everything about this. The world building was rich and so very fascinating, filled with myths and folklore, and of course, one of my favorite settings - a dark, magical forest. I loved the characters. They were wonderfully flawed. The story was filled with whimsy and the writing was flowery in the best ways. Unfortunately the pacing was a little off. While the book started incredibly slow, the building of this world was so necessary, so that worked. But then the pace either picked up to 100 or back down to 0. I never found a flow to it. Still, I'm so excited to jump into the next book in this series! I've heard it only gets better, and I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Atmospheric but lacking

The underlying threat of sexual assault to the main character and casual sexual assault of side characters were a hard no from me. There were a tonne of characters, most with a couple of nicknames that weren't connected to their real names, which made it hard to follow who everyone was. Ages are never explicitly stated which makes it confusing as we follow the main character from birth to adulthood. (At least I assume she's an adult by the end).This book has the worst climax I have ever read.The folklore/ Russian history elements were interesting, but not enough to recommend this book on, considering it's multiple other flaws.

Beautifully written novel

This genre is not usually my thing, but this story is told in such a beautiful style that I just wanted to keep reading. The book, though previously owned was in a very good state at a competitive price and arrived speedily,

Great Read for a Cold Winter's Night

Wonderful read for a cold winter's night. I don't normally enjoy fantasy-based novels that much, but this one had a well-developed heroine whose strength flowed from trust in herself and her own perceptions. Based in part on Russian folklore, the color and depth of the story line was especially appealing. I quickly purchased the next book in the series because I wanted to see how she and her story continued to develop. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Highly recommend

It follows Vasya as she grows up as the only witch-child able to see the house and forest spirits in her village. Katherine Arden spared no charm when sharing creatures from the Slavic folklore that inspired her fairytale-esque story, featuring the domovoi living in the oven, to the seductive rusalka! nexpectededly deep themes layered with a magical winter tale led me to enjoy this book immensely. My only negative points are that with Russian names, the characters would have their proper name (e.g. Vasilisa) and then their nickname (e.g. Vasya), which at first was confusing when introduced initially to the book's cast. A tip for readers upon picking up this book: if there is a Russian word you are uncertain of, refer to the glossary at the end of the book! At first, ... MoreIt follows Vasya as she grows up as the only witch-child able to see the house and forest spirits in her village. Katherine Arden spared no charm when sharing creatures from the Slavic folklore that inspired her fairytale-esque story, featuring the domovoi living in the oven, to the seductive rusalka! nexpectededly deep themes layered with a magical winter tale led me to enjoy this book immensely. My only negative points are that with Russian names, the characters would have their proper name (e.g. Vasilisa) and then their nickname (e.g. Vasya), which at first was confusing when introduced initially to the book's cast. A tip for readers upon picking up this book: if there is a Russian word you are uncertain of, refer to the glossary at the end of the book! At first, I was not certain that I would find this book interesting;the start did not seem to feature well-developed characters but rather, an army of children that listened to their nurse tell them stories in the kitchen. However, I could not have been more wrong! Arden's tribute to Slavic folklore became more and more entrancing through watching Vasya grow up; she became more wild, rebellious and untameable with every chapter, and I came to love her. She reminds me of Arya Stark from George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones in her courage, and of Jude from Holly Black's The Cruel Prince, in her knowledge of the creatures that dwelled her lands. I often do not find the main character to be my favourite, usually finding them lacking character. However, this book is one exception, which was a feat to note! This book was so wonderfully lovable, particularly when reading about the homely feeling when Vasya and her siblings would talk with one another; I found myself enjoying seeing the strong relationships between them the more I read. I would advise readers to beware that the first part of the book may take a while to get into, but the rest of the book is worth its initial slowness! And make good use of the glossary.

I was Swept Away From the First Page

I haven't had a five star read in a while! If The Bear and the Nightingale is not on your radar it definitely should be! A lush Russian setting that draws you in, steeped in Russian folklore and legend, lyrical prose, a story within a story...I adored this! Fantasic storytelling! I received a review copy of this book but I also purchased a hardcover because I loved it so much! I can't wait for the next book: The Girl in the Tower out Jan. 2018!I received a free copy of this title through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion of the story. Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the review Copy!